Attention all Knifemakers!.....Product dealers/retailers and/or knife makers/sharpeners/hobbyists (etc) are not permitted to insert business related text/videos/images (company/company name/product references) and/or links into your signature line, your homepage url (within the homepage profile box), within any posts, within your avatar, nor anywhere else on this site. Market research (such as asking questions regarding or referring to products/services that you make/offer for sale or posting pictures of finished projects) is prohibited. These features are reserved for supporting vendors and hobbyists.....Also, there is no need to announce to the community that you are a knifemaker unless you're trying to sell something so please refrain from sharing.
Thanks for your co-operation!

If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Shapton glass stones- best combo of grits?

I'm relatively new to stones (I have a 1200 grit Suehiro that I've been using for a couple months) and would like a more comprehensive system to use. After doing some reserch, the Shapton glass stones look like a good bet, but what grit combo works (+ DMT x-course for flattening)? There's a good deal to be had for a 1000 + 4000 bundle or should I get a 4000 + 8000 since I have a 1200 grit already? Any help is very much appreciated.

8000 grit is likely your last stone for a mirror finish. I would probably get the 2nd combo since your 1200 suehiro is like very close to 1000 Shapton. It would also depend on your knives/what kind of finish do you want on them. Generally, 4000 would be enough to finish but many owners go for 6000/8000 and some even higher finish.

A word or caution, if you are new to stones, I'd assume then, you are new to sharpening. Glass stones, are hard, and provide little feed back. If the knife is held at the wrong angle, they could roll or take off an edge in a few swipes. When I switched from glass stones to softer stones, my sharpening improved dramatically.

The glass stones are good stones. There are forum members who like the ease of a splash and go stone, and a harder stone fits their style. I don't think they are a good choice for new sharpeners.

I have GS .5k, 1k, 2k, 4k and 8k, use them in the gizmo, but I have to admit that the 3k is redundant. Really great stones, but they suck on wide bevels like traditional blades. For the beginning, I suggest getting the King 1k/6k combo or as single stones, really great stones to learn on and later on you can use them for your single bevels (which will inevitably get in focus sooner or later)